ATLANTA, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- While Detroit's Big Three wrestle with challenges brought on by this summer's high gas prices and the current economic turmoil, visitors to AutoTrader.com continue to show interest in domestic brands. In the latest AutoTrader.com monthly Trend Engine report, released today and highlighting research and compare activity on the site for November 2008, 11 of the top 20 new cars viewed on the site and 12 of the top 20 used cars viewed on the site were U.S. brands.

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"Since we launched the monthly Trend Engine report five months ago, U.S. auto manufacturers have consistently captured a little more than half of the spots on our list of the top 20 new and used cars viewed on our site," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "The Big Three's current situation hasn't yet appeared to impacted consumers' general level of interest in their cars."

The Ford Fusion, benefiting from exposure for its new design at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, made a leap onto the top 20 list of new cars viewed on the site, ranking No. 19 in November, compared with a ranking of No 37 in November of 2007.

The No. 1 viewed new vehicle on AutoTrader.com in November was the Honda Accord, followed by the Toyota Camry at No. 2 and the Ford F-150 pickup truck at No. 3. These new models held these same rankings in the October 2008 Trend Engine report and have been perennial top 10 new vehicles on AutoTrader.com.

On the Trend Engine used car top 20 list, falling average list prices were the big news. Of the top 20 used cars viewed on AutoTrader.com in November 2008, all but one (the Honda Civic) saw average list prices drop compared to November of 2007.

Used Ford F-250 trucks saw the biggest decline in average list prices, down to $19,797.36 in November of this year from $24,663.21 in November 2007, or a drop of 19.73% year over year. All trucks and SUVs on AutoTrader.com's top 20 used car list saw double digit percentage drops in average list prices in November 2008 compared to November 2007.

"We believe there continues to be a market for larger vehicles like trucks and SUVs and search and viewing activity for these larger used models on our site, spurred no doubt by falling gas prices, indicate people might be ready to start buying more of these vehicles again," said Perry. "The good news for people looking for used trucks and SUVs is that prices are lower than they've been in a long time and there are a lot of them to choose from, so it's a great time to buy."

Used Honda Civics continues to benefit from the tight supply the car experienced as a result of gas prices hitting four dollars a gallon in the summer. The average list price for used Civics increased 5.42% year over year, from $13,931.95 in November 2007 to $14,686.92 in November 2008. The Honda Civic ranked No. 7 on AutoTrader.com's top 20 used car list, down from No. 5 in November of last year.

Fuel efficient cars, which are still in limited supply due to the summer gas price spike, saw small drops in prices. For instance, the used Honda Accord, ranked No. 5 in November of 2008, saw its average list price drop only 0.18% year over year, to $16,018 in November 2008 compared to $16,046.39 last November. Similarly, the used Toyota Camry, ranked No. 18 this November, saw its average list price drop only 1.18% year over year, to $16,679.92 in November 2008 compared to $16,879.30 in November 2007.

The top three viewed used vehicles on AutoTrader.com in November 2008 were the Ford F-150 at No 1, the Chevy Silverado 1500 at No. 2 and the Ford Mustang at No. 3. These cars held the same positions in November of last year as well.

AutoTrader.com is the ultimate automotive marketplace with over 3.5 million vehicles listed for sale. Using research gathered by studying the shopping habits of over 14 million unique monthly visitors to the site, many of whom are in-market shoppers looking to complete a vehicle purchase within the next 90 days, AutoTrader.com regularly compiles this data in its monthly Trend Engine report to offer insight into current and emerging sales, price and supply and demand trends in the automobile industry. Past Trend Engine reports are archived at http://autotrader.mediaroom.com/.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 3.5 million new, used and certified pre-owned vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners and the site attracts more than 14 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

    MAKE       MODEL      Rank  Rank   Avg Price-   Avg Price-  Change from
                          11/08 11/07    11/08        11/07       11/07
    NEW
    Honda      Accord       1     3   $26,225.49   $25,617.77      2.37%
    Toyota     Camry        2     5   $24,149.79   $24,850.09     -2.82%
    Ford       F-150        3     2   $30,807.06   $32,722.73     -5.85%
    Honda      Civic        4     4   $20,601.59   $19,996.85      3.02%
    Nissan     Altima       5     6   $24,722.14   $24,767.37     -0.18%
    Toyota     Corolla      6    16   $18,883.93   $17,163.31     10.03%
    Dodge      Ram 1500     7    10   $33,666.98   $31,919.92      5.47%
    Chevy      Silverado
                1500        8     1   $29,983.28   $29,889.00      0.31%
    Dodge      Challenger   9   N/A   $36,910.50          N/A        N/A
    Honda      Pilot       10    61   $35,310.09   $32,675.65      8.06%
    Honda      CRV         11    23   $25,371.52   $24,203.63      4.83%
    Toyota     Tacoma      12    20   $25,603.94   $25,072.04      2.12%
    Chevy      Malibu      13    17   $24,335.69   $21,643.39     12.44%
    Ford       Focus       14    15   $18,043.73   $16,992.05      6.19%
    Chevy      Cobalt      15    18   $17,611.36   $16,074.66      9.56%
    Ford       Mustang     16     7   $31,541.73   $30,058.05      4.94%
    Honda      Odyssey     17    40   $33,753.53   $32,797.00      2.92%
    Jeep       Wrangler    18    12   $27,764.51   $26,748.93      3.80%
    Ford       Fusion      19    37   $22,678.61   $21,910.21      3.51%
    Chevy      Impala      20    14   $25,627.11   $24,355.31      5.22%

    USED
    Ford       F-150        1     1   $15,809.21   $19,114.72    -17.29%
    Chevy      Silverado
                1500        2     2   $15,838.64   $19,254.62    -17.74%
    Ford       Mustang      3     3   $16,480.36   $18,011.95     -8.50%
    Dodge      Ram 1500     4     6   $14,255.98   $17,318.91    -17.69%
    Honda      Accord       5     4   $16,018.26   $16,046.39     -0.18%
    Infiniti   G35          6     9   $20,529.03   $23,847.72    -13.92%
    Honda      Civic        7     5   $14,686.92   $13,931.95      5.42%
    Chevy      Tahoe        8    12   $19,128.89   $22,784.23    -16.04%
    Ford       F-250        9    11   $19,797.36   $24,663.21    -19.73%
    Jeep       Grand
                Cherokee   10     8   $14,128.55   $16,518.38    -14.47%
    Ford       Explorer    11     7   $13,668.16   $16,152.09    -15.38%
    Jeep       Wrangler    12    20   $16,583.97   $18,569.56    -10.69%
    Nissan     Altima      13    10   $14,618.40   $15,175.72     -3.67%
    Toyota     Tacoma      14    14   $17,876.40   $19,077.85     -6.30%
    Chevy      Silverado
                2500       15    19   $19,287.41   $22,993.34    -16.12%
    Audi       A4          16    17   $21,354.29   $22,559.65     -5.34%
    Dodge      Ram 2500    17    23   $20,246.75   $24,435.01    -17.14%
    Toyota     Camry       18    15   $16,679.92   $16,879.30     -1.18%
    Chevy      Corvette    19    24   $36,296.14   $39,296.57     -7.64%
    Volkswagen Jetta       20    16   $13,627.76   $14,203.72     -4.06%

SOURCE: AutoTrader.com

Web site: http://www.autotrader.com/